New Saponins Discovered in Yerba Mate Tea

Foamy, frothy bubbles atop our yerba mate gourds and mugs. Yes, every passionate yerba mate drinker has seen them. Cappuccinos and lattes may have their cream, but our mates have saponins! These intriguing and somewhat mysterious compounds are present every time the mate bubbles appear. And soon, we’ll learn that they may actually indicate how potent a particular mate is.

A few years ago we published an article that presented yerba mate as an adaptogenic herb — an herb that contains “adaptive energy”, helping the body adapt to external and internal stress, such a psychological stress, disease, bacteria, environmental, any sort of stress you could image.

Most adaptogenic herbs contain these saponin compounds, offering a growing range of health benefits1 that are constantly being uncovered:

Previously, as far as mate researchers knew, only 5 saponins had been identified in mate, known as Matesaponins 1–5 2–3. However, as of 2017, a new study revealed a total of 19 saponins, most of which are newly discovered.

Some notable findings in the study were:

Matesaponin D (also known as J3a) was the most abundant, accounting for 30–35% saponin content, followed by Matesaponon 1, Matesaponin 2, Matesaponon 4 (it was previously thought that Matesaponin 2 was most abundant).

Yerba mate berries contain about 30% saponins compared to 4% found in the leaves. Humans don’t generally consume mate berries due to their toxicity.

As yerba mate pharmacology continues to broaden and deepen, surely more pieces to mate’s growing cornucopia of health benefits will be unearthed and quantified.

Based upon what we now know, the cornerstone compounds of these health benefits are from chlorogenic acids and saponins. However, it’s clear that scientists still don’t fully understand these saponins and the precise mechanisms how they function. Only time will tell.

So the next time you see the foam, remember our saponin friends are present, doing their job to help protect the heart, lower cholesterol, and aid your immune system with a flurry of antioxidants.